What a golf rangefinder brand is actually buying
A finished golf rangefinder sells for $150 to $600. Inside it there is an optical bench, a display, a battery, a housing, firmware — and a ranging module that turns a laser pulse into a number. That module is the part with the tightest tolerance and the longest qualification cycle, and it is the part most brands do not build themselves.
This page is for the brand, distributor or instrument maker sourcing that module. It lists what ERDI publishes for the models that fit the application, and it is explicit about what a bare module does and does not include.
Modules that fit a handheld golf instrument
| Model | Published range | Price | Fit for golf |
|---|---|---|---|
| LR1000E2 | 4–1,000 m | $80 | Lowest-cost 1 km unit; a 4 m floor is fine for a flag at 30 m and beyond |
| LRF1200A1 | 5–1,200 m against a building target | $90 | More headroom on long par-5 flags and tree lines |
| SPD1200N3 | 3–1,000 m | $94.5 | Single-photon ranging, 3 m minimum — useful for close targets and layup reads |
| LR1500E2 | 4–1,500 m | $100 | Premium tier headroom, same family as the 1 km unit |
| LR1200E2 | 4–1,200 m | $90 | Middle of the family |
Compare that to what the finished product sells for. The module is a small fraction of the retail price — which is exactly why the spec sheet, not the price, is where a golf OEM wins or loses. A brand that ships a unit which misses a flag at 180 m in low sun has a return-rate problem that costs more than any module saving.
The four specifications that decide a golf design
- Minimum range. Golf is a short-range sport with long-range exceptions. A module that cannot read below 5 m cannot give a layup distance or a chip read. The three- and four-metre floors above matter more than the 1,000 m headline.
- Performance against a flag, not a building. A flagstick is a small, non-cooperative target. The published range for these modules is stated against a building or reference target, so treat the flag figure as shorter and test it yourself on a real pin. Ask for the target size and reflectivity behind any competing claim.
- Spot size at distance. The beam spreads. At 200 m a tight beam still covers a flag; a wide one covers the trees behind it and returns the trees. See beam divergence and spot size.
- Power and interface. A handheld runs from a small battery. The UART-TTL modules here are the natural fit; the H series, at 9–36 V DC, is an industrial part and is the wrong choice for a pocket instrument.
What is not in the box
A module is a board-level ranging engine. It does not include the viewing optics, the OLED or LCD display, the eyepiece, the battery management, the housing, the buttons or the firmware that decides what to show. It also does not include the slope calculation — and that is a rules question, not an engineering one: a device that reports adjusted distance is not permitted in most tournament play, so the slope path normally ships disabled or as a separate mode.
What the module does include is the laser, the receiver, the timing electronics and the serial protocol. Integration is a real project: optical alignment, a window with an acceptance test, EMC, and a qualification run on your own targets.
Laser class and market access
Where a model’s manual declares IEC 60825-1 Class 1, that declaration belongs to the module, not to your finished instrument. Your product’s classification depends on the complete optical path, including your eyepiece. Budget for your own classification test before shipping into the EU or the US. The class statement for the 905 nm line is explained in 905 nm Class 1 eye safety.
Next step
Tell us the unit price you are building to, the target distance you must hold, and the power budget, and we will point at the two models that fit — tommy@erdimail.com. Sample quantities are available without a distributor in between.
Where two source documents for a model conflict, the model page states the conflict rather than choosing one value, and the current datasheet governs the order.